Weighing scale indicia illuminator



Nov. 4, 1952 J. M. LITTLE EI'AL WEIGHING scma mien ILLUMINATOR 2Sl-lEETS-SHEET 1 Filed May 2, 1949 INVENTORS John M L #f/e B Gee/7 6.fi/anA A ORNEY Nov 4, 1952 J. M. LITTLE ETAL 2,516,339

WEIGHING SCALE INDLCIA ILLUMINATOR Filed my 2, 1949 2 sHEETs-sm'r 2INVENTORS John M Z/ff/e BYCQc/Y G. fi/an/f A TORNEY Patented Nov. 4,1952 "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2.616389 7 WEIG'HING scA'IJnmbicmnmMms-Toa Jbiin'MLit'tle andoeeil G. Blank, 'rfiiibgfoiiiii,a's'signor's to Toledo Scale company; Toledo; Ohio, a. corporation ofNewcrersey I I 'Appli'cation ltlay 2, 1949, SefiaTNb. 9!);889 4 Giants.(01. nit-42?) This invention relates to cylindrical chart weighingscales and in particular to an improved arrangement for illuminating theindicia viewed from the customer's side of the scale. t It is desirablefor appearance,that the housing of a cylindrical chart weighing scaleparticularly on the customerfs side, conform closely to the outline oithe cylindrical chart itself. Such an arrangement, howeve r, makesitgenerally 'imposs ihlqbecause of the closespacinghetween the chartitself and the chart housts to 1 4 h b lb i p t n to ct illuminate: theindicia at the customers reading line.

train-parenta e of this invention is to provide a simplifiedstructurefor carrying; light from a light bulb located in an uncrowded portion ofthe chart housing to illuminate those areas of the chart that are viewedby the cuswiher- V Another object of the invention is to provideanilluininated reading point and' an illuminated identifying ordecorative device in interchangeable positions on the customers side ofthe a s' n, .7, v

Mor specific objects and advantages are apparent from the followingdescription of a pref'rre'd einbo'diemnt of the invention. H

According to theinvention a molded, transparent, plastic piece is'shapfd to conform closely to the" cylindrical surface oi a rotatableweighing scale than and isniountedfrom awail of the housiiig of theseaieso that it is positioned in the space between the housingand thechart. An end of the moiaea plastic material that is finished smooth andsquare is presented directly to an elongated light bulb. The moldedtrans;- parent" plastic material serves as a light track andbyfinternalireflectibii from its polished surfaces causes the light fromthe light source to travel within the plastic throughout its full lengthand. breadth; At least one tapered hole is cut through the plasticpiece, the hole overlying the desired reading area of the chart. In theexample shown two such holes are cut through the plastic since tworeading areas are alternatively used depending upon the height at whichthe Weighing scale is to be installed. These tapered'openin'gs throughthe transparent pieces open toward the chart and the beveled edges aresharpenough with respect to the path of light" through the plasticmaterial so that light spills through these surfaces onto the desiredareas. A front cover plate forming part of. th e housing of thescale andoverlying the reading areas is provided with a transparent section overeach of the reading areas. One

such section-is left open;

the load being" weighed.-

for weight indications and the e h r u hfie i n s l ed rat n lu t. coive iece wh hib d s be n Q t e, m l o layt e. manu a tu a e-m rk, .Thnin r h am in size and shape so that either opening may be used foreither fun ctiqn; w I, d For a clearer understanding of the cooper:-ation between the parts of the, improved lighting n a ements eie e ee nma be. h t t e o lowingfdescription and to the drawings illustrating theinvention.

In the drawings:

we e l fai r eei -e eri ii araiii' in section-of aweighing scaleincorporating the improved lighting 1 arrangement,

Figure" II is a'ff "gin'en'tary elevationiof the scale asseen from thecustoni' rs side. p I K Fi' gurein, is an iso ric v'i'ew of the lightingarrangement disassembled' froin the light source andjwei'gning s caiehousing;

These specific figures and, the accompanying description are intendedinerely t'o illustrate the invention but not to limit its scope. h imprve illuminating device c mprises a molded transparent plastic lighttrack ii that is secured toa pl'atel'; also ofplastic butnotltr'a'nsparent, that is installediri anppeiung 31111 a shellmemes-gent of the' housing? or the weighing scale. The shell 4 incooperation with a generaIIysliniIai-ShelI 5 constitute the housing forenclosinga rotatable scale chart'G upon which weight and value indic'iaare printed; The chart 6' is' rotated bya load counterbalancingmechanisinso that the indiciaon the chart when read againsta readingline I- on the'custome'rs side or a similar reading-lineon themerchants' side; indicate the magnitude ofthe load and, on the merchantsside, thevalue of 5 lens assembly 8 mounted onthe merchant's side of thehousing 5 provides magnifiediiiiages of the weight and value indicia; V3 The chart area immediateiy beneath the reading line I is inuininatedwith light obtained from a li'ght-bulb 9 and transmitted through thelight track Lunt il-it is spilled through-the beveled s'id'eS'of: ac'or'iical: h'ol'e lfl fnolcled iii-the light track I. Thelightthatspills'into the hole I 0 is directed gfieially rewardthe chart 6 so asto providebrilliant illumination thereof. A tran parent recessed portionof the lastic cover plate 2 overlying the" hole HI permitsobservationlofth'e indicia on' tl'ie cl'iarfifil 4 Light that'pa" itwithinth'e light track and past the sidesof the hole Wis-spilled througha second tapered or- Beveled h'tfl'e' H located at acrasse the upper endof the light track i. This light spilled through the hole H illuminatesthat area of the chart 9 lying beneath an alternative position of thereading line I. In this embodiment the light from the hole ii is used toback light a decorative translucent insert l2 fitted into the uppertransparent recess of the plate 2.

If the reading line 7 is located beneath the upper transparent recess,as it is when the scale is to be installed on a low counter, thetranslucent decorative is mounted in the cover plate 2 over the first orlower beveled hole Ill.

The details of the assembly of the cover plate 2, the light track I anda mask 93 is illustrated in Figure III. The cover plate 2 is designed tobe a fairly close fit in the housing shell 4 and is provided withmetallic clips 14 and i5 located along its upper and lower edgesrespectively. The clip It along the upper edge has a first section itthat engages the outer surface of the cover plate 2. It is then bentover the top edge of the plate 2 and into the interior of the shell iwhere it has four ears il turned upwardly to engage a lip l8 formed inthe housing shell 4 to hold the clip in position. It also includes aninwardly and downwardly extending lip N) that engages the upper end ofthe light track l.

The lower lip it includes a lip engaging the outer lower surface of thecover plate 2, and a pair of ears 28 that fit over a lip 2! of thehousing shell 4 to hold the plate 2 in position. Two horizontal ears 22are bent upwardly to grasp laterally extending lugs 23 of the lighttrack i so that it is held securely against the plate 2.

The outer face of the light track l has a raised rim 2d surrounding eachof the openings and providing a mounting surface to rest against theinterior surface of the plat 2. This provides the separation requiredbetween the cover plate 2 and the light track I so that light is notlost from the light track i into the plate 2.

This arrangement of a molded transparent light track having a pair ofopenings located over selected areas of the chart provides a simplemethod of illuminating these areas as well as providing attractive backillumination for a translucent decorative piece or trade-mark insert.

Various modifications and shape and mounting arrangements may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having described the invention, we claim:

1. In a weighing scale, in combination, a oylindrical chart, a housingportion that conforms closely to the chart over a portion thereof whichis to be displayed to an observer, a light source positioned in anadjacent portion of the housing, a body of transparent material that hasa curved form to match the cylindrical chart and that is interposedbetween the chart and the closely conforming portion of the housing,said body having an edge thereof in light receiving relation to saidlight source, said transparent body having an opening cut therethroughto expose the selected portion of the chart and having the edges of theopening beveled toward the chart whereby light transmitted through thebody is directed onto the selected portion of the chart, and a coverplate having a window, said cover plate closing an opening in thehousing overlying said transparent body with the window registering withthe opening in said transparent body.

2. In a weighing scale, in combination, a cylindrical chart, a housingportion that conforms closely to the chart over a portion thereof whichis to be displayed to an observer, a light source positioned in anadjacent portion of the housing, a body of transparent material that hasa curved form to match the cylindrical chart and that is interposedbetween the chart and the closely conforming portion of the housing,said transparent body having an edge thereof in light receiving relationto said light source, said transparent body having an opening over thearea to be displayed and having beveled edges of the opening facing sucharea so that light transmitted through the body is directed onto thearea to be displayed, said housing having an opening over the area to bedisplayed and a cover plate having a window registering with the openingin the transparent body, and means on said cover plate for supportingthe transparent body.

3. In a weighing scale, in combination, a cylindrical chart, a housingportion that conforms closely to the chart over a portion thereof whichis to be displayed to an observer, a cover plate that covers an openingin the closely conforming housing portion, said cover plate having awindow exposing the chart area to be displayed, means for removablyattaching the cover plate to the housing, a member 'of transparentmaterial that is attached to the cover plate, said member having a shapeto conform to the space between the cover plate and the chart and beinginterposed between the cover plate and the chart,

the member having a generally tapered opening that opens toward thechart and that registers with the window and having a generally straightand smooth lower edge located at substantially the same level as thebottom of the chart, and a light source positioned in said housingadjacent the edge of the transparent plate.

4. In a weighing scale, in combination, a cylindrical chart, a housingportion that conforms closely to the chart over a portion thereof whichis to be displayed to an observer, a cover plate for covering an openingof the housing and overlying the area to be displayed, a plurality oftransparent sections in said cover plate having one of which transparentsections serves as a window over the chart, a transparent molded memberattached to the cover plat and interposed between the cover plate andthe chart, said member having a curved configuration to match thecylindrical chart and a lower portion that extends out of the narrowspace between the chart and housing, a light source mounted in thehousing and adjacent the lower edge of the member, said member having ahole therethrough in registery with each of the transparent windowsections and each hole having beveled sides facing the chart fordirecting light from the light source onto the chart and a decorativepiece set into that one of the transparent sections that is not used forviewing the chart.

JOHN M. LITTLE. CECIL G. BLANK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,068,504 King July 29, 19131,715,074 Platten May 28, 1929 2,261,978 Dircksen Nov. 11, 19412,309,060 Glaser Jan. 19, 1943 2,333,492 Ridge Nov. 2, 1943 2,507,035Maynard May 9, 1950

